Dose of Venom: Matzek, Rockies silence Diamondbacks

PHOENIX — Despite another stellar performance from Vidal Nuno, the Arizona Diamondbacks could not produce any runs for support as they fell to the Colorado Rockies 2-0.

Nuno came out on Saturday night looking for his first win since June 27 when he was a member of the New York Yankees. He had a solid start his last outing: Aug. 23 vs. San Diego, when he tossed 7.1 innings and allowed two runs on two hits.

Unfortunately, he received a no-decision in his start against Colorado. He allowed a single to Nolan Arenado in the first but racked up three strikeouts to complete the inning. However, he ran into trouble in the second when he delivered a curveball to Matt McBride, who belted it into the left field seats to give the Rockies a 1-0 lead.

“I was like, ‘Let me get that curveball,'”, Nuno recalled about his pitch to McBride. “I was just trying to keep him guessing, and he got a hack on it to take it over the fence.”

That would be the last hit and only run Nuno would surrender for the remainder of his outing, as he went on to retire the next 20 batters he faced.

“He’s been good the whole time he’s been here,” said D-backs manager Kirk Gibson. “You go look at his starts since he’s been here, and we have not scored for him.”

Nuno finished the night tossing eight innings and allowing one run on two hits. He also struck out seven batters in his 103 pitches.

“Everything was working for me,” said Nuno. “The past couple starts I’ve been getting my command down and Miggy [Miguel Montero] has been calling a good game.”

Battery mate Montero said he thought that Nuno deserved the win.

“He threw the ball good, but unfortunately we didn’t help him,” Montero added.

Meanwhile, a pitching duel was brewing, as Rockies starter Tyler Matzek kept pace with Nuno. He limited the D-backs to only three hits throughout his seven scoreless innings pitched.

Shortly after the start of the top of eighth inning, Matzek was taken out and replaced by Brooks Brown, who got Jordan Pacheco to fly out to left. The D-backs tried to threaten as Ender Inciarte singled to center and then stole a base, and Cliff Pennington soon reached first on an error. With runners on first and second, Rockies manager Walt Weiss went to his bullpen to bring in right-hander Adam Ottavino to face Mark Trumbo. Ottavino got Trumbo to ground out to third, ending the inning.

“One of the things we need to work on is our quality at-bats with guys in scoring position,” said Gibson. “We’ve been on a bad run.”

To give the Rockies some insurance, Charlie Blackmon belted a solo homer into the Chase Field pool off of Matt Stites in the ninth inning to mark the final run of the game.

THE GOOD

Newly acquired veteran Nolan Reimold got the nod to start in left field for the D-backs. He got his first D-backs hit in his first at-bat, as he singled to left off of Matzek. His last hit was back on Aug. 16 when he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. He later ripped a single to right field in the ninth. He finished the game 2-for-4.

THE BAD

Blackmon continued to hurt the D-backs. With his solo home run in the ninth inning, Blackmon is now 17-for-51 with four doubles, three homers, and nine RBI in his last 14 games against Arizona.

The D-backs’ No. 3, 4 and 5 hitters (David Peralta, Montero and Trumbo) went a combined 1-for-11 Saturday night.

NOTED

– In the fifth inning, Inciarte hit a ground ball to first, which deflected to second baseman DJ LaMahieu, who threw back to McBride to get the out. Gibson went out to argue the call resulting in a 2 minute, 24 second-long replay review, which was then confirmed.

– On this day in 2001, Alumni Game participant Steve Finley became the first position player in club history to pitch in a game, throwing a scoreless ninth inning.

– On Friday night, Addison Reed (25 years, 245 days) became the sixth-youngest pitcher to reach 100 saves since the stat became official in 1969.

STAT OF THE GAME

20: The number of batters in a row Nuno retired, even though he still took the loss.

HE SAID IT

“I’m not frustrated. You’ve got to love this game, and you’ve just got to go out there and try to do your best.” – Nuno on being winless with the D-backs.

UP NEXT

The D-backs look to take the series win as the close out their eight-game home stand against the Rockies.

Right-handed rookie Chase Anderson (7-6, 3.90) takes the mound for the D-backs, looking to get back on track. He received the loss his last outing — Aug. 24 vs. the Padres — in which he gave up four runs in five innings pitched. He has two career starts against Colorado, both of which resulted in a win.

Opposing Anderson is left-hander Jorge De La Rosa (13-9, 4.19), who will make his 28th start of the season. De La Rosa is winless in Arizona, where he has an 0-6 record. He has allowed 22 earned runs in 47.2 innings this season against the D-backs.

First pitch is scheduled at 1:10 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.